


i’ll make the most of the minutes

by startofamoment



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Canon Timeline, Cross-Time Friendship, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 15:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18741733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startofamoment/pseuds/startofamoment
Summary: “Oh,hi!I’m starting today. Detective Santiago.”It somehow never crossed Jake’s mind that they’d meet –reallymeet – at some point.The future versions of her he’d encountered always seemed familiar with him, but he’d assumed that was the natural effect of countless visits across space and time. Like, maybe she’d come to know him as her mysterious but cool time travelling buddy, in the same way he’d dubbed her as the beautiful girl his lucky soul just consistently gravitated toward.He takes her outstretched hand and shakes it, letting autopilot guide him through the motions of any other introduction. “Detective Peralta. Welcome aboard.”Her eyebrows furrow a bit as she gets a better look at him. “Do I know you from somewhere? I feel like I’ve seen you before.”“Uh–” Jake’s mouth opens and closes dumbly. This probably isn’t a conversation to be had within earshot of half the bullpen. (Even if it was, he wouldn’t know where to start.) He shakes his head, letting out what he hopes is a casual chuckle. “No, no. I don’t think so. Although Ihavebeen told I look a lot like Jesse Eisenberg. Maybe it’s the hair?”





	i’ll make the most of the minutes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [santiagoswagger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/santiagoswagger/gifts).



> A very loose Time Traveler’s Wife AU, inspired by [tp_wk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tp_wk)'s [through space and time, you'll always be by my side](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1099773) series for the VM fandom. I blame The Umbrella Academy for sending me on yet another Time Travel AU kick && my enablers for feeding my crazy.
> 
> Before anything, I'm going to go ahead and admit that I don't yet have a clear outline for this fic. I have a bunch of ideas of things I want included and have done so much gratuitous worldbuilding with [elsaclack](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elsaclack), but otherwise I haven't written all too much and thus can't promise updates within any sort of timeline. My hope is that I'll finish this fic before I start med school in August, and I've got [santiagoswagger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/santiagoswagger) to hold me to this personal deadline. Fingers crossed my writing muse cooperates!

There’s a ringing in his head the first time it happens, the sounds of his parents shouting and his own sobs blending into a single hollow tone. Jake buries his face into a pillow and shoves his fingers into his ears, willing for it to go away, but it only gets louder and louder and louder.

And then it disappears. 

Slowly, he starts to sit up, scrubbing his face with the back of his hand. The yelling outside has stopped, which means it’s probably safe for him to leave his room. All he wants right now is a big hug from his mom and maybe a cup of hot cocoa with extra marshmallows on top. (He’ll accept his dad’s apology in the form of a trip to Sal’s later, but for the moment he’s decidedly still mad at him.)

When he blinks his eyes open, he expects to see his prized shelf of dinosaurs at the head of his bed, as always. Instead, he’s met with a whole room he’s never seen before. Light pink paint covering the walls. A large dining table. Doilies on nearly every surface.

Panic rises through him as his gaze continues to jump from one part of the room to the next. His breath begins to grow uneven again, fresh tears flooding his vision.

This isn’t his house. _Where_ is he? Where are his mom and dad?

“Babe–?” someone calls from down the hall. “Did you get out of work early?”

Jake scrambles, nearly tripping over his socked feet in a rush to get up and hide. He spots a narrow space between the couch and the wall and curls up as small as he can, hoping that he’ll wake up from whatever nightmare this is before the voice finds him.

Footsteps start to echo through the apartment, ripping a frightened whimper from his chest. He knows on some level that he should be quiet, but he can’t help sniffling as tears roll down his cheeks.

“ _Oh–”_ A soft gasp comes from somewhere above him, and he looks up for long enough to take in the worry on this stranger’s face.

She’s pretty, actually– with shiny black hair and big brown eyes. She doesn’t seem mean or terrifying at all, but he’s far too upset at this point to do anything other than devolve into more sobs. 

“Hey, _hey,_ it’s okay,” she says, crouching to sit against the wall and pulling him into her lap. “I’m here, Jake. I’ve got you. It’s going to be okay. 

He burrows his head into her shoulder immediately, his fingers clinging to her shirt for every bit of security and comfort. Something lifts inside him when she says his name, and somehow he just knows he’s safe here with her. Safe to cry, safe to share everything that’s been haunting him and more.

Between sobs, he rambles about his dad and golfing and Sheila, every other word garbled and unintelligible. She only holds him tighter, shushing soothingly and rubbing a hand up and down his back.

By the time his cries start to taper off, his throat feels raw and his eyelids heavy. 

His new friend shifts to cup his face with her hands, wiping the last of his tears away. Her touch is gentle and her skin soft, apart from what might be a ring pressing lightly into his cheek. (Jake recognizes the feeling from when his mom strokes his forehead before saying goodnight.)

He grins at her shyly, not quite knowing how to say thank you or sorry for soaking her entire shoulder with tears.

She smiles back, and for a second he forgets everything he was worried about. 

Just then, a lightness begins to take over him. It’s a strange but not unpleasant feeling, as if his whole body might float into the sky. Jake tries to grasp at the lady’s shirt again, but he can’t for some reason. His fingers keep passing through the soft material, no matter how hard he tries to anchor himself to her.

She must sense the change because she caresses his cheek one last time and leans down to press a kiss to his temple. “Hang in there, Jake,” she says. “Things will get better.”

The feeling of lightness grows, and all at once he knows he doesn’t have much time left with her. “What’s your name?” he blurts out quickly, his voice sounding distant to his own ears.

She chuckles and looks at him, a new twinkle in her eyes. “ _Dora._ ”

The next morning, Jake wakes up to his mom running her fingers through his hair, humming a song he’s heard Nana sing a few times before. 

“Was that a dream?” he mumbles to himself. A quick glance around the room confirms he is, in fact, at home. His precious dinosaurs are all lined up on the shelf, exactly how he last left them. There isn’t a single doily in sight.

“What was that, honey?”

He shakes his head and moves to stretch his limbs. “Can we have blue pancakes today? With whipped cream on top?”

“Okay, but just for this morning.” His mom ruffles his curls one last time then heads toward the door. She pauses and turns back to him before walking past the threshold. “Jake– after breakfast, I think we’re all going to have a little chat. There’s something your father wants to tell you.”

 

.

.

.

 

The second time it happens, Jake’s not actually aware that it does. He’s entirely focused on the thought that he’s going to buy Gina that bedazzled jean jacket she’s been eyeing at the mall for months. _Heck_ , he’s going to buy her three bedazzled jean jackets if she wants.

See: he finally, officially had his first kiss, and he only has Gina to thank.

Sort of.

She hadn’t exactly played wing-woman or anything, but she’d recommended (that is: forced him to watch and then subsequently swore him to secrecy about) the rom com that inspired his little stunt. He wouldn’t have shown up to the end of Jenny Gildenhorn’s field hockey game with his mom’s giant boombox and a carefully crafted mixtape, and Jenny definitely wouldn’t have laid one on him _in front of her whole team_ otherwise. 

So, really– he owes Gina. And he _will_ buy her at least a new set of neon gel pens if and when it turns out that he doesn’t have enough in his piggy bank for rhinestones on denim.

But first he has to get the sheer giddiness out of his system, all the restless energy thrumming under his skin.

The hockey pitch is connected to a sprawling park, and he’s taken to downright _frolicking_ through the gardens, his skips and leaps interspersed with close-eyed, open-armed turns and whoops of joy.

He could probably take flight any second now without trying too hard. His heart’s already soaring as it is; it wouldn’t take too much for the rest of him to follow.

He never thought being on cloud nine was such a literal feeling. 

It’s during one particularly uncontrolled spin that he bumps into someone, a bodily collision that throws both of them backward.  

Jake falls to the grass with a loud huff, and he’s disoriented for a bit before the hapless stranger groans and starts getting up.

He looks over to her and thanks the stars he’s already on the ground. Because, _wow_ – she’s _knock-the-wind-out-of-him_ beautiful. Even with her oversized glasses askew and her hair mussed out of place. He’s never seen her before, but he thinks she might be a couple years older than him, maybe a student at one of the local high schools.

“What just happened?” she asks, readjusting her glasses and brushing the dirt off her clothes. Her eyes scan the scene around them and widen at the mess of folders and loose leaf paper. “My review sheets! Oh no, now the order’s going to be all weird... Why didn’t I think to add numbered tabs when I made these?”

Jake winces and coughs awkwardly, guilt rising through him. “I’m sorry! It was my fault, I wasn’t watching where I was going. Here, let me help,” he says, grabbing the sheets closest to him and passing them over to her. He’s careful not to crumple any of them; the color-coded notes seem perfect enough to be framed and displayed somewhere important.

“Thanks,” she says softly, adding them to her growing pile. She goes to sit on a nearby bench and starts shuffling and rearranging while Jake fetches the remaining sheets.

He watches as she works, fascinated by how quickly she skims through each page and files sheets in the appropriate place. It’s impressive and mildly endearing – how focused she is. He almost feels like he should probably study for his math midterm tomorrow. (He won’t.)

Eventually, she gives the stack of folders a satisfied pat then slides everything into her bag. She looks up and catches him staring at her, and her cheeks redden a shade. “I didn’t realize you were waiting there for me to finish. I’m sorry.”

“Oh! No, no–” Jake quickly waves off her apology. “Like I said, it was my fault your sheets got all messed up in the first place. Apparently spinning around in circles with your eyes closed isn’t a safe thing to do? Who knew.”

“Wait, what? You were _spinning around in circles?”_

“With my eyes closed, yes. It was very fun, you should try it some time.”

She fixes him a look that’s somehow both curious and withering. “Is that just like a hobby for you? Something to do to pass the time on a weekend afternoon?" 

“Well, no, I guess not. But–” He stops, taking a moment to consider whether he should reveal exactly what spurred on his careless, carefree romp through the field. It’s _kind of_ a big deal, and Gina would flip if she found out she wasn’t the first to hear about it. But also it’s the absolute hugest, most exciting thing that’s happened in his life thus far, and the words are practically spilling out of his mouth. He breaks into a goofy grin. “I just had my first kiss.”

Her eyebrows jump up. “Oh, uhm. Congratulations?”

“Thanks,” Jake says on a dreamy sigh. “So you’ll have to excuse me for prancing around and running into you like a complete idiot. I mean, I’m sure you remember what it was like to have your first kiss... The nerves. The joy. That feeling of being on top of the world. Like, I’ve never used the word ‘exhilarating’ in real life, but this– this was that. You know what I mean, right?”

“Uh–” She averts her gaze and fiddles with the hem of her blouse. “I actually haven’t had my first kiss yet, so I wouldn’t know. But I’d imagine that’s what it would feel like, yeah?”

Jake gasps audibly. “You haven’t had your first kiss yet?!”

“ _Nope_ ,” she grumbles, still not meeting his eyes.

“ _Never?!”_

She snaps up, and her face is flushed all the way to her ears. “Okay, you don’t have to sound so shocked about it. It’s not the weirdest thing in the world– not every person in my class is in a relationship. Plus, it’s not my fault my dad and older brothers never let me go to any of those bizarre middle school make-out parties.” Her eyes fall again as her voice drops a tone. “But, well, I don’t think anyone’s ever liked me in that way so..." 

Jake shakes his head vigorously. “Wait, wait– I didn’t mean to imply that _you’re_ weird or falling behind or anything like that. I’m really just surprised because you’re super pretty, and I feel like tons of guys – and girls – would want to kiss you.”  

She scoffs. “Okay, you really don’t have to say that only to make me feel better.” 

He frowns, desperate for some reason to help this girl feel just a little bit more confident in herself. “No, I’m serious! Don’t tell Jenny, but I _for realz_ forgot about her for a sec when I first saw you. You’re _so_ beautiful, and from what I can tell from the last fifteen minutes, also really smart. And definitely nice because you didn’t start yelling at me the second I knocked over all your stuff. So, really, anyone would be lucky to date you.”

She looks at him for a moment after he finishes, the ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “ _Thanks_ ,” she finally breathes out, tucking her hair behind her ears. “That’s really nice of you to say.”

He grins. His work here is done.

“Alright, well–” He takes a step back and rocks on the balls of his feet. “I should probably leave you to your studying. I myself still have a whole park worth of grass to run through and a jean jacket to buy. Important stuff, obviously.”

She quirks her head to the side, her brow furrowing slightly. “Have fun, I guess?”

“I will!” he says before waving and sprinting in the opposite direction.

His eyes slip closed when a strong breeze blows past him, but he keeps going, yelling with unbridled joy over all of the day’s events.

It occurs to him suddenly that he never got the pretty girl’s name, so he stops in his tracks, ready to go back and ask if they can stay in touch somehow. He supposes it might be strange – a middle schooler being friends with a high schooler. But she seemed like a cool enough person, and he just has this inexplicable, overwhelming desire to be friends with her.

She’s not there when he turns back, though. And, actually, his surroundings look just a bit different, as if he’s on the other side of the park already. He could’ve sworn there was a fountain near the bench they were at, but now there’s a children’s playground in its place.

Jake didn’t think he’d been going that fast, but perhaps he’s unknowingly developed super speed? He shrugs and makes a mental note to try out for the cross country team next year.

He’ll have to plan on visiting the park again next week; hopefully she’ll be sitting in the same spot, around the same time.

For now, he has news to share and a debt to repay.

 

.

.

.

 

The third time’s the charm, it turns out. Because there’s really no way he could possibly miss the fact that he’d been crying in a broom closet one moment, and then standing in a toddler’s bedroom the next.

He looks left and right, at the shelf of children’s books and the pastel-colored wardrobe flanking the walls, and then trains his focus back on the large crib in front of him. He stands, unmoving, trying to make sense of everything. Evidently he’s no longer at his Bar Mitzvah. 

“Where am I?” he asks, his voice cracking into the beginnings of a sob.

An indignant gurgle sounds from somewhere behind him, and Jake turns sharply to meet the noise.

It’s a girl, no older than two, whose room he’s likely invading. She’s staring at him with big brown eyes, her mouth curved into a little pout.

“Why sad?” she asks loudly, reaching her tiny fingers up toward him.

Jake crouches down in front of her and plasters on a smile. “I’m not sad. I’m okay!” he whispers, hoping she’ll lower the volume of her voice if he speaks in hushed tones. The last thing he needs is her parents barging in and demanding to know how and why he’d broken into their house.

Her pout grows more pronounced. “You sad,” she declares, touching a sticky hand to his tear-stained cheek and patting him repeatedly. “Sad.”

He laughs in spite of himself, amused by how determined this toddler is to prove herself right. “Okay, yes, I was crying earlier. But–” He pauses to wipe his face with the sleeve of his cheap tuxedo. “I’m not sad now, kiddo. I’m alright.”

She hums, observing him for another second before grabbing one of the stuffed animals beside her and handing it to him. “Us play.”  

“Oh, uhm–” He glances warily toward the door but finds he can’t hear anyone from right outside. “I guess– I guess I can stay for a little bit. What are we playing?”

She beams at him and thrusts a few more toys in his lap, babbling off her plans in broken, half-intelligible sentences. Jake follows for the most part and does what he can to play along, eventually losing himself in their game of make believe. 

He doesn’t realize how much fun he’s having until she’s breaking out in peals of laughter at his best pirate impression, and his own cheeks are aching from all the smiling he’s been doing. He’s warm and happy from the inside out, his mood considerably better since Jenny Gildenhorn trampled on his heart an hour or so ago.

Something changes, then. A feeling of weightlessness takes over him, and everything begins to sound muffled except for a sudden whimper from his little playmate.

“Stay!” she cries, clambering towards him. “No go! Play more!”

Tears are rolling down her cheeks, and Jake’s heart clenches. He’d give anything to get her to giggle and smile again.

“It’s okay, kiddo,” he says, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes but finding that he can’t. His voice sounds distant and too soft to him, but he presses on with trying to comfort her. “We’ll play again next time, how about that? We had fun today, didn’t we?”

She nods but keeps sniffling, rubbing a little fist to her eye. “Back soon? Play?”

“I promise,” he replies, although he isn’t entirely sure he can guarantee that. It’s worth the lie when she gives him a toothy grin and a little wave.

Her goodbye is the last thing he hears before the air starts to ripple around him, the bedroom blurring into a blinding array of colors that has him dizzy and lightheaded. He’s sure he’s going to lose his dinner if this continues for much longer.  

Fortunately, it’s over as quickly as it began. A quick survey of his surroundings tells him he’s back at his Bar Mitzvah reception, right outside the entrance doors. 

“There you are!” His mom calls from down the hall. “We’ve been looking all over for you! Where have you been, mister?”  

“Mom!” Jake gasps, throwing his arms around her. “I think– I think I just teleported somewhere? I don’t know, I can’t really explain it. I was hiding in some supply closet because Jenny and Eddy Fung, they– okay, it’s a long story– but suddenly I was in this little girl’s bedroom, and we played with her dolls, and _oh–_ she was so tiny and adorable! I was so sad I had to go, but now I’m here, and–” 

His mom’s eyes widen in realization, a small gasp escaping her before she smiles. “Jake, sweetheart… You’re a time traveler.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are much appreciated!!!  
> Find me on tumblr ([@startofamoment](https://startofamoment.tumblr.com/)) and come chat with me about B99, Jake/Amy, and AUs! ♥


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